Bridger's Promise
by Whipper
Summary: Sequel to 'Broken Promise'. Tony told Bridger abould Lucas' past. Now what? Beta'd by Devilrats.


Disclaimers: Apply  
Author's Note: You should probably consider reading the other stories in this series.

BRIDGER'S PROMISE,  
Written by Whipper 

"It's not true." 

The lie was out of his mouth before he could stop it and he felt even more ashamed than before. Something he wouldn't have thought possible a few moments earlier. He looked down at his sneakers and studied the pattern of the dirt on them, wondering how it had gotten there since he'd only ever worn the shoes on the seaQuest. 

"Lucas." 

The Captain's voice was a painful mix of sadness and disappointment. Lucas could feel the older man's eyes probing him. He stubbornly kept his eyes aimed at his shoes and after a long moment of silence he came to the conclusion it would take about 40,000,000 shoelaces to tie a knot around the world. 

"Lucas." 

Not including the bow, of course. 

"Lucas, please look at me." 

It took a lot out of him to fight down the urge to put his hands over his ears and squeeze his eyes shut. It was incredibly silly, he thought, the belief that if you couldn't see or hear the world, then the world couldn't see or hear you either. He'd learn very early on that it didn't work that way. Yet somehow now he was retreating to the behavior of a toddler. 

"Lucas," Bridger's voice had taken on a very calm note. The one Lucas thought of as the Captain's 'parental' voice. Admittedly, it didn't sound anything like his real father's voice - but he imagined that Bridger had spoken to his son with the same mix of patience and stern love. "I need you to look at me while we're talking." 

"No." 

There was a short moment of silence when all Lucas could hear was his own heart beating. Then he felt a strong, warm hand squeezing his shoulder before he was gently pushed towards the bed. He supposed he should have felt afraid, being manhandled like that, but he'd never mistaken Bridger for his father before and he wasn't about to begin now. There was a sea of differences between the two men. Unlike with Lawrence, he knew he could trust the Captain not to hurt him like that. There were other ways you could be hurt though and Lucas didn't trust anyone with his feelings. 

"C'mon, Lucas, sit down." 

A blanket that smelled like the Captain was wrapped around him and he allowed himself to be slightly comforted by the soft fabric. It wasn't until a hand on the back of his neck gently guided him forward that he realized he was on the edge of hyperventilating. He felt slightly better a few minutes later as his head rested gently against his knees, but the knowledge that sooner or later he'd have to look up and face the Captain kept him feeling light-headed and nauseous. 

"I take it you don't want to talk about it?" came the Captain's soothing voice. 

"There's nothing to talk about." 

"Tony seems to think otherwise." 

The Captain's voice was filled with compassion and just a note of sadness. For a moment Lucas hated the man for being so perfect. Why couldn't Bridger just for once be like everyone else? Why did he have to be so kind to the pathetic, lonely kid under his command? Why couldn't he be acting with disbelief? Heaven knew that the Captain had never seemed to think too badly about his father during the seaQuest's first tour. Bridger had always defended Dr. Wolenczak when Lucas had gingerly complained about his father. 

"Tony's lying," he heard himself say after a few moments of hesitation. 

The words left a bitter after-taste in his mouth, yet he didn't regret the lie. Lucas had told him about his father in confidence and Tony had ratted him out to the Captain. It wasn't even as if he was really breaking his stupid promise to Piccolo. He was just going to stay at his father's place over the weekend. Dr. Wolenczak was hosting a party and he needed his son to be there. Nothing was going to happen with hundreds of guests around but Tony was just too stupid to understand that. 

A sudden but overwhelming feeling of shame made him bite down hard on his lip. As he licked the blood of his lip the taste of red copper filled his mouth. It was a quite familiar taste. It almost made his cheeks ache as he remembered hard slaps that had never failed to send his world spinning. 

"Why would Tony lie about something like this?" 

"Why? How w-would I know that?" Lucas had to take a few deep breaths so not to stutter. "Maybe he's pissed off at me for something or maybe he thinks it's some kind of a sick joke... Or..." 

"I thought Tony was your friend?" 

"Well, so did I but apparently he isn't or he wouldn't-" 

"Don't, Lucas." There was an unusual edge to the Captain's voice and Lucas almost, just almost, looked up from his study of the floor. "Don't lie to me. If you don't feel you can tell me the truth about your father, you don't have to. But don't lie to me. Our relationship means too much for that, don't you think?" 

It was a hit below the belt to play the surrogate father-son card and Lucas felt like screaming to the older man to just shut up and leave him the hell alone. He didn't though. Nor did he think he could continue lying. 

"I don't want to talk about it," he finally offered. 

"And I won't make you," Bridger quickly promised. 

The 'not yet' might have been unspoken but Lucas could still feel it burning away at him as the Captain, a few minutes later, tucked him into his bed. 

*** 

"Lucas isn't a minor anymore, Nathan. If he doesn't want to go home, his father can't possibly make him." 

"I know that." 

Bridger's sounded unusually subdued. 

"If what you're telling me is true, I see no reason for why Lucas would voluntarily go back home. He's one of the most brilliant persons I know -- why would he return to an abusive father? I'm sorry, I'm not saying that your information is wrong... but perhaps it's been blown out of proportion? People thrown around the term abuse so easily these days. One spank or two is suddenly cause for removing a child from his parents." 

There was a short pause, then: 

"There's no reason to look at me like that, Nathan! You know I would never hurt a child or that I approve of physical discipline -- I'm just saying that Lucas has always had problems. Look at his school records, if you need proof. If Lawrence at some point lost his patience and pushed him into a chair or grabbed his arm, I hardly see that as reason enough to call the poor man a child-abuser." 

"We're talking about broken ribs and serious bruising -- not three smacks on the rump when he was a toddler." 

"That's what Mr. Piccolo told you. The word of a convicted felon is not enough to convince me. Especially not since Lucas hasn't confirmed anything his friend told him." 

"So you won't help me then?" 

The cold in the Captain's voice that made him shiver. There was another pause, slightly longer this time. 

"Very well. I'll send a message to Dr. Wolenczak that Lucas is desperately needed at the seaQuest over the weekend. But I'm only doing this on one condition. I don't want to hear anything more of this story until you have evidence. Is that understood, Captain Bridger?" 

"Yes, sir." 

There was a quiet hiss as the vidscreen shut down and the connection closed. The sound was quickly followed by heavy steps towards the bed where Lucas was curled up, pretending to be asleep. He squeezed his eyes shut even tighter as he felt the mattress dip slightly as the Captain sat down beside him. A large, warm hand rested on his shoulder for a moment as the Captain whispered a promise, just loud enough for the teenager to hear. 

Then Bridger left, presumably to get some sleep on the narrow couch, and Lucas was left alone with his thoughts. The older man's promise echoed in his mind as he drifted off to sleep. _"I'll fix this, Lucas. I promise." _

He found himself wanting to believe that promise. 

THE END 


End file.
